


Lots of Firsts

by eafay70



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Animal Transformation, First Dates, Kerfy and Barrie are still Avs, Nonbinary Character, Other, Trans Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-26 16:21:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21781159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eafay70/pseuds/eafay70
Summary: Alexander is nervous for their first date with JT. It doesn't help when JT turns into a dog.
Relationships: J. T. Compher/Alexander Kerfoot
Comments: 8
Kudos: 29
Collections: Hockey Holidays 2019





	Lots of Firsts

**Author's Note:**

  * For [binchmarner](https://archiveofourown.org/users/binchmarner/gifts).



> Dear binchmarner,  
> Happy holidays! I'm a big fan of your works, so I'm a little nervous about you liking this fic. Let me know what you think!  
> <3, The Author
> 
> NB: Tyson Barrie and Nate MacKinnon are mentioned (both individually and as a couple), but don't actually appear.
> 
> Big thanks to the person who reassured me this was a good idea both before and after I wrote it! And big thanks to the person who beta read this! (Identities will be specified post-author reveals.)

“Stop pacing,” Tyson ordered.

“I’m pacing because I’m nervous for a first date! That’s allowed!” Alexander snapped. “In fact, this is the first time I’m going on a date with a teammate. I’m allowed to be VERY nervous, which is what I am, which is why I’m pacing!”

“But you should be trying to calm down,” Tyson countered. “You don’t want to be so nervous that something goes wrong.”

Alexander sighed. “I hate it when you’re right.”

Before Tyson could respond beyond a smirk, a strange sound came from the hallway. “What was that??” Tyson asked.

The sound came again. “It sounds like…” Alexander furrowed their brow in thought. “Barking?!”

“Oh, fuck, it actually happened.” Tyson and Alexander hurried down the hallway to JT’s room, where the source of the sound - a big, fluffy dog - was trying to free himself from a suit.

“JT, hold still…” Alexander knelt and got to work on the dress shirt. “Did you transform while getting dressed for our date??”

“He must have been even more stressed than you,” Tyson chirped. JT barked. “Oh, shush. You worrywarts are perfect for each other.”

“Not helping.” Alexander finally managed to set aside the shirt.

Tyson sighed and took out his phone, tapping a few times before holding it to his ear. “Hi, Mrs. C- Valerie, sorry… Well, JT transformed into a dog, which he told us meant we should call you… Yeah, it’s the first time I’ve ever seen it happen… Well, Alexander -”

JT growled and launched toward Tyson, sending Alexander to the floor.

“Down, JT!” Tyson ordered. “... Okay.” He held out the phone. “She wants to talk to you.”

“Okay.” Alexander took the phone. “Hi, Mrs. -”

“I know you know better than to call me ‘Mrs. Compher,’ Alexander.”

“Sorry, Valerie. Kind of distracted by JT.”

“I don’t blame you,” she chuckled. “JT tells me you’re the organized one in that house, so I’ll give you the instructions for taking care of him while he’s like this, okay?”

“Okay,” Alexander nodded, making a mental note to chirp Tyson for this observation later.

“JT keeps kibble and bowls in the pantry. He gets one bowl of kibble for dinner, and make sure to fill the water bowl before bed. He has a leash, collar, and pooper-scooper with baggies in a box in the bottom of his closet - take him for a walk around the block after dinner. Sometimes he tries to sleep on someone’s bed, but it makes a big mess, so it’s best to get him to stay in his own bed. If he isn’t back to normal in the morning, call me; if he IS back to normal in the morning, tell him to call me himself.”

“Got it.” 

“Don’t hesitate to call again tonight if you need to, okay?”

“Okay. Thanks, Valerie.” They gave the phone back to Tyson and reached for JT, who had wiggled out of his pants. “Are you a very good and very handsome boy?”

“Yes, you are!” Tyson, having ended the phone call, sat down and began petting JT. “You’re the best boy ever! No wonder Alexander looooooves you and wants to kiiiiiiiss you!”

Alexander sighed, but focused on scratching JT behind the ears instead of saying anything.

“Wait, what does this mean for your date?” Tyson asked.

“I’m not sure,” Alexander admitted. “I made curried cauliflower for us, but I should probably save it for when JT’s human again.”

“Am I part of the ‘us’ for the cauliflower?” Tyson’s eyes lit up - but JT growled. “Fine! I’ll find someone who cares enough about me to keep me fed, like Brutes, or Nate - or Brutes AND Nate!” With a dramatic huff, Tyson stormed out.

Alexander stood up and held out their hand, which JT sniffed. “Can you find the box with your leash and stuff?” JT stood up and walked to his closet, where he dug around for a few seconds before barking happily. 

“Good boy!” Alexander walked over and moved the box to the center of the room. They opened the box and took out its contents: “Michigan leash, Michigan collar with your parents’ phone number but no name on the tag, pooper-scooper with baggies - everything’s here, though I’m tempted to stop by the Avs store and replace it before our second date.”

This prompted a sad whine from JT, which surprised Alexander. “What’s wrong?” They rubbed JT’s back softly. “Do you think you’d look bad in Avs colors?” JT shook his head. “Then is it the...date?” JT nodded and whined again. “I don’t blame you for being nervous - I’m still nervous myself. But we’ll still have a great date tonight, I promise!”

Alexander stood up and beckoned to JT. “Come on, buddy!” JT barked and followed Alexander to the kitchen. “Can you find your kibble?” With an unhappy whine, JT nosed at the bottom of the pantry door, which Alexander opened. It took some digging, but Alexander eventually found the items hidden in the back: “Kibble, Michigan bowl, and another Michigan bowl - two more items for me to replace!”

They placed the bowls on the floor and added kibble to one, despite JT whining and nosing at the fridge. “This is what you get while you’re a dog,” Alexander said firmly. “Maybe Tyson would give in to your begging, but I’m listening to your mom.” JT sighed and walked over to the bowl, but didn’t even sniff at its contents. Alexander echoed the sigh and walked to the counter, where they scooped some curried cauliflower on a plate before sitting on the floor next to JT. “This is better than nothing, eh?” JT rested a paw on Alexander’s thigh, sniffed the kibble, and started eating, as did Alexander.

“You know, back when the three of us talked about moving in together and we each had something to confess, I thought my being nonbinary would be the biggest talking point,” Alexander told JT. “Instead, you told us about randomly turning into a dog, assuring us that it wasn’t very likely, but it was something we ought to know. I must say, you undersold yourself in terms of being a very cute dog.” JT barked and licked Alexander’s face.

Alexander finished eating and sighed softly. “I hate to make you move, but I have to get up, buddy.” JT whined, but moved his paw from Alexander’s thigh. Alexander stood up and put away their dishes, then filled JT’s water bowl. “Let’s go for your walk, eh?”

It turned out that JT as a dog was similar to most dogs Alexander knew in that he really, really loved walks, as evidenced by the way he started jumping happily at Alexander’s suggestion. Alexander laughed and ran to JT’s room, where they grabbed the leash, collar, pooper-scooper, and bags before hurrying back to the kitchen. JT barked and wagged his tail as Alexander put the collar and leash on him. “I’m glad you’re happy, but please don’t injure me in your enthusiasm,” Alexander chirped as they walked out the front door. JT huffed indignantly, but calmed down so as not to risk pulling Alexander’s arm out of its socket. He did his business and sniffed at the trees, so Alexander considered the walk around the block a success. 

Once they were back inside, Alexander threw away the used baggie, washed their hands, and sat on the couch. “Want to watch a movie?” JT jumped onto the couch and rested his head in Alexander’s lap with a happy bark. “Okay, let me find something.” They turned on the television and clicked through a couple of channels until JT barked at a rom-com Alexander didn’t recognize. “Works for me!” The two of them watched the movie in a comfortable silence, not unlike how Alexander had imagined the date going with JT as a human.

After the movie ended, Alexander turned off the television and scratched JT behind the ears. “Bedtime, buddy. I’ll walk you to your room.” JT whined sadly. “I know, but your mom said you make a big mess, and I don’t want you to be uncomfortable in my room.” JT whined again and looked at Alexander with (literal) puppy dog eyes. “Oh, alright,” Alexander sighed. “I’ll meet you there after I get ready for bed.” JT barked, licked Alexander’s face, and jumped down to follow Alexander to their room.

Alexander grabbed their pajamas and went into the bathroom. “Calm down, Kerfoot,” they told their reflection as they got changed. “You’re just sharing a bed. Everything’s fine.” They brushed their teeth and returned to their bedroom, where JT was sitting on the bed. “Sleep well, you very good and very handsome boy,” Alexander said, slipping under the covers. JT barked and snuggled closer, which helped Alexander fall asleep.

* * *

Alexander woke to the familiar sound of their alarm. They went to the bathroom and changed their patch on autopilot. This meant they didn’t realize anything was weird until they went back to their bedroom and saw fur all over the bed. There wasn’t an actual dog in the room, so Alexander went into the hallway and looked at JT’s room, which had its door closed.

“Closing the door requires opposable thumbs,” Alexander noted quietly. “He's human again.” This prompted the return of the previous night’s nerves, so Alexander took a few deep breaths, then headed to the kitchen. Hopefully the normalcy of making breakfast would help them feel better by the time they saw JT again.

That hope was dashed as soon as Alexander entered the kitchen: JT was already there. Specifically, JT was standing in front of the stove, wearing boxers and an apron while poking at something in a frying pan. Other than JT being a human as opposed to a dog, there was nothing normal about the situation.

Before Alexander could decide on a course of action, JT turned around and smiled. “I thought I heard you walking this way! Good morning!”

“Good morning,” Alexander managed to say. “You’re human, so you should call your mom. She said I should call her if you were still a dog, but you should call her otherwise, so...”

“I will,” JT said. “Have a seat - I’ll give you your breakfast in a sec.”

Alexander sat down at the table, which was set for two. “Tyson didn’t come home?”

“When I woke up, I had a text from him that he was crashing with Four and would be back after brunch.” JT joined them with two plates, each of which had an omelet and home fries. “I know it’s not the healthiest, but I won’t tell if you won’t tell.”

“It’s a deal.” Alexander dug in and smiled. “This is great. I didn’t know you could cook.”

“I can’t. The fact that this came out decently is pure good luck, unlike me turning into a dog in the middle of getting ready for our date.” JT’s face fell slightly. “Sorry about that, by the way. Like I’ve said before, I have no idea what causes it.”

“It’s okay,” Alexander said, hoping they sounded reassuring. “I figured you were nervous. Ask Tyson when he comes back - I was pacing from being so nervous myself!”

“Really?” JT’s eyes widened. “I mean, I’m always nervous before first dates, but you looked cool as a cucumber all day.”

“I’m good at hiding it, I guess.” Alexander shrugged and looked back at their plate. “But, yeah. First time going on a date with a teammate, first time going on a date with someone I asked out instead of the other way around -”

“Wait, what?” JT’s jaw dropped. “ _I’m_ the first person you’ve ever asked out? _Me?!_ Why?”

“Well…” Alexander felt a blush the color of JT’s hair spread across their cheeks. “You’re nice, funny, really good at hockey, ridiculously attractive -”

“Thank you, but that’s not what I meant.” JT was now blushing, too. “Why did you never ask anybody out before?”

Alexander gulped, the nerves from earlier growing again. “I…”

JT reached for Alexander’s hand. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. I’m surprised, that’s all. You seem really confident - not just when you asked me out, but as long as I’ve known you.”

Alexander took the offered hand. “You and I met after I figured out the nonbinary stuff - well, to the extent that I have it figured out. Before that, whenever I thought about asking someone out, it’d set off all sorts of agonizing thoughts about what I didn’t understand or like about myself, so asking them out seemed like a bad idea.” They sighed. “Saying yes when someone would ask me out was difficult. The thing that made me do it, which I didn’t always, was not wanting the other person to feel bad. I guess it makes sense that none of those relationships worked out.”

JT gave Alexander’s hand a light squeeze. “I...don’t really know what to say, which sucks considering I can actually speak now.”

“It’s okay,” Alexander chuckled. “That reminds me - why did you growl when Tyson mentioned my name on the phone? Did you not know he was talking to your mother?!”

“I knew!” JT insisted. “I understand everyone normally when I’m a dog! I just didn’t want him to say anything in case you didn’t want her to know!”

Alexander blinked. “Both you and Tyson were there when I told your parents and his parents about my pronouns. Your mother was the first to give me a hug once my speech was done.”

“Not what I meant!” JT said quickly. “I didn’t know if you wanted her to know about us going on a date, especially since you might have wanted to call the whole thing off since I was a dog!”

“Ohhhhh.” Alexander smiled. “That’s... actually very sweet of you, but unnecessary. I had a great time with you last night, and I look forward to more dates.”

“Same here.” JT leaned forward, as did Alexander - but a noise from the front door stopped them from doing more. JT groaned. “His timing is something else sometimes.”

Tyson entered the kitchen, his smile wide. “Good morning! You were much cuter as a dog, but welcome back to personhood, JT.”

JT frowned. “I’m not sure you can factually state that an Av isn’t cute.”

“I didn’t say that!” Tyson singsonged, taking a seat at the table. “Besides, isn’t it Alexander’s job to flatter you now?”

“Not exclusively,” Alexander said. “You’re still his friend. Also, how did you already finish brunch with Tyson Barrie?”

“We stuck to normal breakfast so I could check in on the two of you and report back.” Tyson leaned forward, a mischievous smirk on his face. “So, how’d things go last night?”

Alexander looked at JT, who was smiling again. “Very well.”

“Damn straight,” JT agreed. “...Or whatever the equivalent expression is in this house.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please let me know what you thought!!


End file.
